In the old books such as the Labore Evangelica and the Successos Las Islas Filipinas, Taytay was called Taitay. There were stories on how the name comes about and one of the most popular was about the first Spaniard who visited the place. According to the story, a Spaniard met a boy and asked him about the name of the place. Seeing a foreigner, the boy panicked and called for his father, “Tay! Tay!” (Tay is a shortened version of the word Tatay which means Father in English). Thus, the early Spaniards thought the name of the place was Taytay.
Taytay is situated near Laguna de Bay and is part of the Kingdom of Namayan whose seat of power was in what is now Sta. Ana, Manila.
Labore Evangelica, mentioned that by 1596 Taytay was highly Christianized but some remained faithful to the old religion.
Upon the arrival of the French, the Franciscans evangelized the inhabitants and established a parish named Vista de Sta. Ana de Sapa in 1579. In 1591, The Jesuits took over the administration of the parish . Because the old settlement was prone to flooding due to its proximity to the lake, Rev. Pedro Chirino, the Jesuit parish priest at that time, moved the parish further inland at the top of a hill where it still stands but now is known as St. John the Baptist Church. Along with the parish, many of the inhabitants relocated inland as well near the church.
In 1853, a new political subdivision was formed. This consisted of the town Antipolo, Bosoboso, Cainta and Taytay (previously form Province of Tondo) and the towns Morong, Baras, Tanay, Pililla, Angono, Binangonan and Jala-Jala (previously from province of La Laguna). Morong was made capital and the district was later changed to Distrito Politico-Militar de Morong.
By 1899 war broke out between the Philippines and America. Taytay suffered heavy casualties with the church almost burned down and most of the town razed to the ground.
On June 11, 1901, Taytay became part of the newly created province of Rizal by virtue of the Act No. 137 enacted by the First Philippine Commission.
During the World War II, Taytay was occupied by Japanese forces. Local soldiers of the pre-war 42nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and 4th Constabulatory Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary entered and liberated Taytay in 1945. They helped the recognized guerrilla fighter units to attack and defeat the Japanese Imperial Army.
On November 7, 1975, by virtue of the Presidential Decree No. 824, 12 towns from the province of Rizal were incorporated in the newly formed Metro Manila Area while Taytay remained within the province of Rizal.
Excerpted from The Bang Cafe and Restaurant display
Take Me to Taytay 